Divine Doppelgängers : : YHWH's Ancient Look-Alikes / / ed. by Collin Cornell.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Penn State University Press Complete eBook-Package 2020
• MitwirkendeR: Becking, Bob,; Chapman, Stephen B.,; Cornell, Collin,; Daviau, P. M. Michèle,; Dearman, J. Andrew,; Goldenberg, Robert,; Graham, M. Patrick,; Hays, Christopher B.,; Keel, Othmar,; Levenson, Jon D.,; Miller Jr., Patrick D.,; Snyder, Josey Bridges,; Strawn, Brent A.,
• HerausgeberIn: Cornell, Collin,
• Place / Publishing House: University Park, PA : : Penn State University Press, , [2021]; ©2020
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (280 p.) :; 8 illustrations

The Bible says that YHWH alone is God and that there is none like him-but texts and artwork from antiquity show that many gods looked very similar. In this volume, scholars of the Hebrew Bible and its historical contexts address the problem of YHWH's ancient look-alikes, providing recommendations for how Jews and Christians can think theologically about this challenge.Sooner or later, whether in a religion class or a seminary course, students bump up against the fact that God-the biblical God-was one among other, comparable gods. The ancient world was full of gods, including great gods of conquering empires, dynastic gods of petty kingdoms, goddesses of fertility, and personal spirit guardians. And in various ways, these gods look like the biblical God. Like the God of the Bible, they, too, controlled the fates of nations, chose kings, bestowed fecundity and blessing, and cared for their individual human charges. They spoke and acted. They experienced wrath and delight. They inspired praise. All of this leaves Jews and Christians in a bind: how can they confess that the God named YHWH was (and is) the true and living God, in view of this God's profound similarities to all these others?The essays in this volume address the theological challenge these parallels create, providing reflections on how Jews and Christians can keep faith in YHWH as God while acknowledging the reality of YHWH's divine doppelgängers. It will be welcomed by undergraduates studying religion; seminarians and graduate students of Bible, theology, and the ancient world; and adult education classes.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Editor's Preface -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Part 1. The Problem at Large -- Chapter 1. God and the Gods: History of Religion as an Approach and Context for Biblical Theology -- Chapter 2. Canaan-Israel-Christianity: The Case for a Vertical Ecumenism -- Chapter 3. More Than One God? Three Models for Construing the Relations Between YHWH and the Other Gods -- Chapter 4. Who Is Like You Among the Gods? Some Observations on Configuring YHWH in the Old Testament -- Chapter 5. Why Should the Look- Alikes Be a Problem? -- Part 2. Chemosh as a Case Study -- Chapter 6. Theological Approaches to the Problem of God's Ancient Look- Alikes -- Chapter 7. Chemosh Looks Like YHWH, but That's Okay -- Chapter 8. YHWH and Chemosh: An Investigation of Look- Alike Gods Using the Moral Foundations Theory -- Chapter 9. YHWH, Chemosh, and the Rule of Faith -- Chapter 10. Is There a Counterpart in the Hebrew Bible to New Testament Anti- Semitism? -- Part 3. Other Case Studies -- Chapter 11. Miqreh and YHWH: Fate, Chance, Simultaneity, and Providence -- Chapter 12. "Can a Woman Forget Her Nursing Child?" Divine Breastfeeding and the God of Israel -- Chapter 13. Bulls and Horses, Gods and Goddesses: The Religious Iconography of Israel's Neighbors -- List of Contributors -- Index of Authors -- Index of Scripture -- Subject Index